Divided linen

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a blanket assembly that permits a first user to collapse a first portion of the blanket assembly independently from a second portion, the first user being associated with the first portion and a second user being associated with the second portion. The assembly includes a blanket body, a separation partially extending into the blanket body from a first end of the blanket body, the separation separating the blanket body into a first portion and a second portion, and an attachment member coupled to the first portion and the second portion along the separation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present application relates to bedding, and more particularly to bedblankets and comforters.

2. Description of Related Art

Traditionally, blankets and bed comforters are used to cover a user forwarmth while the user is sleeping in a bed. However, for a bed havingtwo users, the two users may not agree on a comfortable temperature.While one user may be comfortable being covered by a blanket or bedcomforter, the second user may feel too hot by the blanket. A typicalsolution for the second user in this scenario would be to push theblanket to the side of the second user towards the first user. However,this action may give the first user too much blanket or may disturb thefirst user while sleeping while performing the action. Another solutionis to shift the blanket entirely towards the first user so that theblanket does not cover the second user, however, this solution requiresfrequent adjustment between making the bed and preparing for sleep.Furthermore, should the second user become cold during the night, thesecond user must shift the blanket back to covering the second userthereby disturbing the first user in the shifting process. Therefore, itis desired to develop a blanket that permits either the first or thesecond user to displace a portion of the blanket corresponding to eachuser without disturbing the other user.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a blanket assembly thatpermits a first user to collapse a first portion of the blanket assemblyindependently from a second portion, the first user being associatedwith the first portion and a second user being associated with thesecond portion. In one embodiment of the present invention, an assemblyis provided comprising: a blanket body having a first end and a secondend; a separation partially extending into the blanket body from thefirst end, the separation separating the blanket body into a firstportion and a second portion; and an attachment member coupled to thefirst portion and the second portion along the separation.

Ultimately the invention may take many embodiments. In these ways, thepresent invention overcomes the disadvantages inherent in the prior art.

The more important features have thus been outlined in order that themore detailed description that follows may be better understood and toensure that the present contribution to the art is appreciated.Additional features will be described hereinafter and will form thesubject matter of the claims that follow.

Many objects of the present application will appear from the followingdescription and appended claims, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein likereference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention indetail, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited inits application to the details of construction and the arrangements ofthe components set forth in the following description or illustrated inthe drawings. The embodiments are capable of being practiced and carriedout in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseologyand terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description andshould not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carryingout the various purposes of the present design. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions in so far as they do not depart from the spirit and scopeof the present application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the application are setforth in the appended claims. However, the application itself, as wellas a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantagesthereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a blanket assembly having separate blanketportions for each user, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the blanket assembly of FIG. 1 having a firstblanket portion rolled away separately from a second blanket portion;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the blanket assembly of FIG. 1 having the firstblanket portion folded away separately from the second blanket portiontowards a second end; and

FIG. 4 is a top view of the blanket assembly of FIG. 1 having the firstblanket portion folded away separately from a centerline.

While the embodiments and method of the present application issusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specificembodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawingsand are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however,that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended tolimit the application to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of thepresent application as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments of the preferred embodiment are describedbelow. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actualimplementation are described in this specification. It will of course beappreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment,numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedeveloper's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effortmight be complex and time-consuming but would nevertheless be a routineundertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure.

In the specification, reference may be made to the spatial relationshipsbetween various components and to the spatial orientation of variousaspects of components as the devices are depicted in the attacheddrawings. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the artafter a complete reading of the present application, the devices,members, apparatuses, etc. described herein may be positioned in anydesired orientation. Thus, the use of terms to describe a spatialrelationship between various components or to describe the spatialorientation of aspects of such components should be understood todescribe a relative relationship between the components or a spatialorientation of aspects of such components, respectively, as theembodiments described herein may be oriented in any desired direction.

The assembly and method in accordance with the present inventionovercomes one or more of the above-discussed problems associated withblankets. In particular, the system of the present invention is ablanket having a partial separation extending from an end of the blanketthat separates the blanket into a first portion and a second portion,the two portions corresponding to two users that permit each user toeither roll or fold the corresponding portion without disturbing theother user. Furthermore, the system can optionally employ an attachmentmember to releasably detach the two portions from each other along thepartial separation.

The system will be understood from the accompanying drawings, taken inconjunction with the accompanying description. Several embodiments ofthe system may be presented herein. It should be understood that variouscomponents, parts, and features of the different embodiments may becombined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which arewithin the scope of the present application, even though not allvariations and particular embodiments are shown in the drawings. Itshould also be understood that the mixing and matching of features,elements, and/or functions between various embodiments is expresslycontemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art wouldappreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/orfunctions of one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodimentas appropriate, unless otherwise described.

The system of the present application is illustrated in the associateddrawings. As used herein, “system” and “assembly” are usedinterchangeably. It should be noted that the articles “a”, “an”, and“the”, as used in this specification, include plural referents unlessthe content clearly dictates otherwise. Additional features andfunctions are illustrated and discussed below.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters identifycorresponding or similar elements in form and function throughout theseveral views. FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a top view of a blanket assemblyhaving separate blanket portions for each user where FIGS. 2 and 3illustrate different methods of collapsing each blanket portion.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a top view of blanket assembly 100 havingseparate blanket portions for each user is illustrated in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, blanket assembly 100 includes, but is not limited to, blanketbody 101 having ends 103 a and 103 b and a separation (i.e., separation105) partially extending into blanket body 101 from end 103 a, therebyseparating blanket body 101 into portions 107 a and 107 b. Portions 107a and 107 b are integrally connected to each other proximately towardsend 103 b. Portions 107 a and 107 b are blanket portions correspondingto a first user and a second user.

In general, blanket body 101 can be a blanket, a bed comforter, or a bedlinen such that blanket body 101 may have varying thickness and materialfor varying degree of comfort and/or insulation for maintaining heat fora user. In some instances, blanket body 100 may have insulation stuffingwithin blanket body 100, such as down, cotton, or polyester stuffing. Ingeneral, end 103 a is positioned towards corresponding heads of thefirst user and the second user while the users are laying in a bed, andend 103 b is conversely positioned towards feet corresponding to thefirst user and the second user. In this figure, separation 105 isoriented along center line 111 of blanket body 101.

Optionally, blanket body 101 may have an attachment member that iscoupled to portions 107 a and 107 b along separation 105, wherein theattachment member has at least two parts (i.e., parts 109 a and 109 b),and wherein the two parts are releasably detachable from each other. Inthis figure, part 109 a is in communication with portion 107 a and part109 b is in communication with portion 107 b. The attachment member maybe a variety of fastening systems. For example, the attachment membercan be a hook and loop fasteners, a snap assembly, magnetic co-members,zip fasteners, button and buttonhole fasteners, or hook and eye claspfasteners.

Optionally, blanket body 101 may have a second separation perpendicularto separation 105 that permits portions 107 a and 107 b to fold awayfrom centerline 111. In this figure, blanket body 101 has secondseparation 113 that partially extends into blanket body 101 fromseparation 105, thereby partially separating portions 107 a and 107 bfrom portion 107 c. Furthermore, blanket body 101 may optionally have asecond attachment member that is coupled to portions 107 a-c alongseparation 113, wherein second attachment member has at least threeparts (i.e., parts 115 a-c), and wherein two parts releasably detachfrom the third part. In this figure, part 115 a is in communication withportion 107 a, part 115 b is in communication with portion 107 b, andpart 115 c is in communication with portion 107 c, and wherein parts 115a-b releasably detach from part 115 c. Parts 115 a-c may be a variety offastening systems, such as hook and loop fasteners, a snap assembly,magnetic co-members, zip fasteners, button and buttonhole fasteners, orhook and eye clasp fasteners.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a top view of blanket assembly 100 havingportion 107 a rolled away separately from portion 107 b is illustrated.

In general, separation 105 permits portions 107 a and 107 b of blanketbody 101 to collapse independently from each other towards end 103 b. Inthis figure, portion 107 a is collapsed towards end 103 b by rollingportion 107 a towards end 103 b. This feature permits a first userassociated with portion 107 a to displace portion 107 a withoutdisplacing portion 107 a onto a second user or without displacingportion 107 b associated with the second user, thereby not disturbingthe second user from sleeping.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a top view of blanket assembly 100 havingportion 107 a folded away separately from portion 107 b is illustrated.

In this figure, portion 107 a is collapsed towards end 103 b by foldingportion 107 a towards end 103 b.

As a method of using blanket assembly 100, a user associated with eitherportion 107 a or 107 b decouples portion 107 a from portion 107 b byusing the attachment member. Then, either the first user or the seconduser collapses the corresponding portion associated with each user(i.e., portion 107 a or 107 b) towards end 103 b by either rolling orfolding the corresponding portion.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a top view of blanket assembly 100 havingportion 107 a folded away separately from centerline 111 is illustrated.

Alternatively, the user may fold a respective portion (e.g., portion 107a and/or 107 b) away from centerline 111. In this figure, separation 113permits portion 107 a to be folded away from centerline 111. As a methodof performing the fold in this figure, the user decouples portion 107 afrom portion 107 b along separation 105, decouples portion 107 a fromportion 107 c along separation 113, and then folds portion 107 a awayfrom portion 107 b (i.e., away from centerline 111).

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as theapplication may be modified and practiced in different but equivalentmanners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of theteachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particularembodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified, and all suchvariations are considered within the scope and spirit of theapplication. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forthin the description. It is apparent that an application with significantadvantages has been described and illustrated. Although the presentapplication is shown in a limited number of forms, it is not limited tojust these forms, but is amenable to various changes and modificationswithout departing from the spirit thereof.

1. A blanket assembly, comprising: a blanket body having a first end anda second end; a separation partially extending into the blanket bodyfrom the first end, the separation separating the blanket body into afirst portion and a second portion; and an attachment member coupled tothe first portion and the second portion along the separation.
 2. Theassembly of claim 1, further comprising: a second separationperpendicular to the separation, the second separation partiallyextending into the blanket body from the separation, the secondseparation partially separating the first portion and the second portionfrom a third portion of the blanket body; and a second attachment membercoupled to the first portion, the second portion, and the third portionalong the second separation.
 3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein theattachment member has at least two parts, a first part and a secondpart, the first part in communication with the first portion and thesecond part in communication with the second portion, the first part andthe second part being releasably detachable from each other.
 4. Theassembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member is a snap assembly.5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member are magneticco-members.
 6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member isa zip fastener.
 7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachmentmember is a button and buttonhole fastener.
 8. The assembly of claim 1,wherein the attachment member is a hook and eye clasp fastener.
 9. Theassembly of claim 1, wherein the separation partially extending into theblanket body is oriented along a center line of the blanket body.
 10. Amethod of using a blanket assembly, comprising: obtaining a blanketassembly of claim 1; and decoupling the first portion from the secondportion using the attachment member.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising collapsing a portion of the blanket assembly towards thesecond end.
 11. (canceled)
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein theportion is the second portion.
 13. The method of claim 10, whereincollapsing the portion of the blanket comprise of rolling the portion.14. The method of claim 10, wherein collapsing the portion of theblanket comprise of folding the portion.
 15. The method of claim 10,further comprising: decoupling the first portion from a third portionusing a second attachment member; and folding the first portion awayfrom the second portion.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein theattachment member has at least two parts, a first part and a secondpart, the first part in communication with the first portion and thesecond part in communication with the second portion, the first part andthe second part being releasably detachable from each other.
 17. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the attachment member is a snap assembly.18. The method of claim 10, wherein the attachment member is a zipfastener.
 19. The method of claim 10, wherein the attachment member is abutton and buttonhole fastener.
 20. The method of claim 10, wherein theattachment member is a hook and eye clasp fastener.